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The news website CNN said the U.S. Department of Defense has developed systems for bringing down drones using radio waves. The report said such systems are already in use in Syria, Iraq and other places.

The drone story led to a mixed reaction on Twitter. Several tweets suggested the military’s announcement about possible downings of drones was not news. Seany Hide tweeted, “Of course they can.”

Keith Wheeler agreed. “Sounds reasonable,” he tweeted.

Dictionaries say 'suggest' means 'to state something indirectly'. But I think it means 'to state something directly'.

Link to original news source, from LearningEnglish.com

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  • I suggest you haven't looked at the first definition in Cambridge Dictionaries - suggest: to mention an idea, possible plan, or action for other people to consider. There's nothing particularly "indirect" about my usage in this comment.
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 5, 2017 at 17:29
  • Suggest often does mean "state indirectly" or "imply". But I'm not sure why you think it means "state directly" in this particular example.
    – stangdon
    Oct 5, 2017 at 18:15

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Had Seany Hide tweeted, "This is not news," then that would have been directly stating that the announcement was not news.

Instead, Hide tweeted, "Of course they can." This merely suggests this is not news; it does not say so explicitly.

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